Nell Gwyn (1934)
Director: Herbert Wilcox
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
With King Charles II putting into practice his promise to restore the country 'to its old good nature, its old good manners and its old good humour' by leading a rollicking chorus in a 17th century musical hall, it is difficult not to warm to Wilcox's very democratic brand of royalism. Neagle is rather too hoydenish to be truly sexy, but she has a zest and brazenness breathtaking in its disregard for the conventions of polite society, and Hardwicke's king almost convinces one that there was a time when royalty wasn't synonymous with lily-livered mediocrity. Despite a script which is rather too hesitant at improving upon history, this is a worthy example of disreputable costume drama, a genre British cinema occasionally excelled in.Author: RMy
Cast & crew
Director: Herbert Wilcox
Producer: Herbert Wilcox
Cast: Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke, Jeanne de Casalis, Muriel George, Esmé Percy, Moore Marriott, Miles Malleson full cast
Genre(s): Period/Swashbucklers
Rated: U
Duration: 85 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Ang Lee talks 'Taking Woodstock'
Ang Lee talks to Tom Huddleston about his tale of the men behind history’s greatest music festival
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations











What do you think?
Post your review now